Manuel Palaiologos

Manuel Palaiologos (1455-March 1512) was a nobleman of the Ottoman Empire and the leader of the restoration movement of the Byzantine Empire. In 1511 he spun up a conspiracy against the weak Sultan Bayezid II with aid from the Knights Templar, but it failed due to the intervention of the Assassins Order.

Biography
Born the year of Constantinople's fall to the Ottomans, Manuel Palaiologos - nephew of the fallen Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI - did not visit the city that might have been his until much later in life. As a boy, he was heavily influenced by the tales of his family's tragic fall from power and, with his brother Andreas, fostered early hopes of somehow reclaiming that glory. But this brotherly pact also fell to ruin. Andreas, a friend of Rodrigo Borgia and acquaintance of the Ottoman Sultan's brother, Cem (living under house arrest in Italy), advocated a militaristic approach against the Ottomans, to be led and commanded by the Templars. Manuel, on the other hand, preferred a subtler approach - less flashy but more likely to succeed.

At some point after 1485, Manuel moved to Constantinople and immediately made his presence known to the Sultan, selling the right of his throne to Bayezid II for a healthy pension. He then joined the Ottoman navy and converted to Islam. Thus, on the surface, he appeared the very model of a modern Ottoman - learned, curious, and proud of his adopted country. Andreas was, of course, furious at his brother, believing him to be a traitor. But of the two men, Manuel's scheme proved more viable, at least on the surface. By the late 1490s, Rodrigo's interest in helping the Palaiologoi retake Constantinople had evaporated, and Andreas had fallen deep into poverty, eventually dying alone and penniless in the gutters of Rome, sometime around 1502.

But Manuel flourished. He grew fat and satisfied off his pension and the income pouring in from various other dubious concerns. By the time he was in his late 50s, he was one of the wealthiest people in the city. So did his wealth and success temper his plans for world domination, and was he still bitter about the Ottoman occupation of his city?

In 1509, following the earthquake in Constantinople and the reduction of the health of Sultan Bayezid II, Manuel Palaiologos started to equip an army to take over the Ottoman Empire and re-create the Byzantine Empire again. He recruited mercenaries and gave control of his forces to captains such as Leandros, Vali cel Tradat, and Şahkulu. However, in 1511 his plans were interrupted when the Assassins Mentor Ezio Auditore da Firenze, who had brought down the House of Borgia in Italy, arrived in Constantinople in search of the Masyaf Keys to open the vault of the ancient Hashshashin city of Masyaf. Manuel fought the Assassins over the keys, but lost power as his dens and officials were hunted down in Constantinople.

Settling down in the underground city of Derinkuyu in Cappadocia, Manuel made his last stand there. He had captured several crates of gunpowder and rifles, and Şahkulu, his most fierce lieutenant, had defeated the Ottoman armies many times in the Şahkulu Rebellion. But in March 1512 Ezio infiltrated his city and killed Şahkulu, and also caused a gunpowder explosion that created chaos. Palaiologos tried to calm the citizens, but abruptly stopped his speech when he saw Ezio walking towards him.

Death
Palaiologos fled from Ezio, who was delayed by some of the Byzantine guards hired by Manuel, who headed to the pier. He was surprised that there was no boat to rescue him, and Ezio confronted him. Manuel drew his sword and the two dueled. When Manuel tried to attack, Ezio blocked him and grabbed his neck and fired his hidden gun point-blank. Manuel said that he was not the only one with the vision of global peace, and that Ottomans and Byzantines were only labels, costumes, and facades. He gave Ezio the last key, saying for him to take it and see his fortune, to see if he got in one hundred leagues of the library before a Templar finished him off.